The size of the incision in the ocular tissue necessary to implant an intraocular lens within the capsule of the eye continues to decrease with the progress of intraocular lens deformation technology. One downside of this progress is that increasingly high stresses are being created in the material of the intraocular lens during the implantation procedure. Since deformable intraocular lenses are typically made of materials having elastic properties, increased lens deformation is opposed by a proportionally strong tendency of the lens to return from a deformed configuration, that is, to release the stresses associated with deformation. While these stresses must be relieved for proper implantation, complications may arise if the lens is simply allowed to "spring" back from a deformed configuration within the eye, for example, the eye may be injured, the lens may be damaged or the lens may be improperly oriented within the eye. Thus, a new problem has arisen in the art of intraocular lens implantation procedure: controlling the release of a deformed intraocular lens into the capsule of the eye. The present invention solves this problem.